What will they do for an encore this weekend? Who knows? But until the final gun of Week 4 sounds, let’s appreciate what they did in Week 3…

CLASS AAAA:

Pete Coughlin, Upper St. Clair - We had some tough decisions to make in Quad-A, but the senior quarterback cracks our list again for a near-flawless effort against Southeastern Conference rival Peters Township. Coughlin connected on nine of 11 attempts for 249 yards, which led all QB’s in that classification in Week 3, and five of those passes went for touchdowns in a 42-14 rout of the host Indians.

CLASS AAA:

Ben Tackett, Knoch – There were a lot of questions surrounding the silver medalists entering 2012, but this flanker-turned-tailback is answering one of the biggest: who’s going to lead the ground attack? Tackett led all WPIAL offensive players in Week 3 with 253 yards rushing on just 15 carries, scoring on runs of 67, 44, and 25. The senior is now the district’s leading scorer with 11 TD’s through three games in the wake of Knoch’s 40-7 win over Greater Allegheny Conference rival Derry.

CLASS AA:

Brett Brumbaugh, South Fayette - The Lions were supposed to be tested in Week 3, but the sophomore quarterback made the Ironmen swallow their pride last Friday. In an important–and surprisingly easy–50-0 blowout of Century Conference foe Steel Valley, Brumbaugh completed 11 of his 16 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns, and also scrambled for another. He continues to lead all WPIAL signal-callers with 11 total TD passes.

CLASS A:

West Shamokin Wolves – We’ve enjoyed seeing how much longer the champion Bears can maul the competition, but we also loved seeing these Wolves stray from the wrong side of history, snapping a WPIAL-record 46-game losing streak with a 25-6 triumph over visiting Riverview in Eastern Conference action last Friday. Matthew Johns ran for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns for head coach Josh Gilliland’s first victory, and the first for the program since defeating Allegheny-Clarion Valley nearly five calendar years ago.

OUT-OF-DISTRICT:

DaRon Clark, Perry – Filling in for an injured Ahmad Turner, the backup quarterback got a friendly bounce on a 23-yard touchdown pass to Juyuan Byrd early in the third quarter of a 12-0 win over Allderdice in a pivotal City League battle at Cupples Stadium. Turner ran for a four-yard score to provide the final margin.